BrazilAPO Group develops a new press release monitoring tool
Having released one of the first print monitoring solutions for press release distribution on the African continent in February this year, media relations consultancy APO Group has now released an enhanced press release monitoring tool catering to its lucrative markets across Africa and the Middle East.
With over 250,000 media contacts in the print domain as well as online, APO Group has grown to be among the largest media relations consulting firms in Africa since its establishment in 2007. The firm’s biggest markets of operation are Africa and the Middle East, wherein one of its primary services is the instant dissemination of press releases on a large scale through its Africa Wire and MENA Wire platforms respectively.
The firm’s new product allows it to more accurately determine the return on investment of a press release, primarily using cutting edge technology developed in the APO Innovation Lab. The technology analyses a wide range of media bites from various forms – print, digital and social media – and helps identify overall trends in reader sentiment.
Termed as “PR Value,” the new tool also calculates the cumulative monetary value derived from the reach achieved by a press release. This process is supported by the enhancement of metrics on the online domains hosting press releases, including country of origin, site descriptions and circulation numbers.
“Our enhanced media monitoring service reflects our commitment to exploring new ways of delivering superior media intelligence to our customers,” said Founder and CEO at APO Group Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard. The firm is working on a number of projects at the moment for which a proper gauge of public perception is absolutely crucial.
For instance, the firm has been working with Rugby Africa to help portray a positive image of African Rugby across the globe, hoping to increase viewership for the local form of the sport. This included bringing on board Getty Images for the Rugby Africa Gold Cup 2018, ensuring that the images from the event were distributed to as wide a market as possible. The firm’s new monitoring tool will help determine the impact of such partnerships.
Pompigne-Mognard added, “For us, distributing press releases across a specific region is not merely about pushing corporate news to journalists. It is about supporting our clients in establishing market presence and enhancing target audience engagement. To help them achieve this, we strongly believe it is crucial to provide them with as much information as possible about the success of their campaigns.”
The new tool is also of particular relevance in the African market in the near future, given that the number of internet connections on the continent are set to surpass 1 billion by 2022, which is likely to cause a spike in the number of individuals accessing content online. Technology-based analytical tools will therefore have a strong base to operate on.
